Painting day...

I'm getting really nit-picky with details in the pieces I'm working on. Example, I'm looking at a blowup of cactus1, to get a better idea of how to depict the needles in the painting.

More on production: I've updated cactus2, enough to take another pic. Here's a pic of gratitude, with the transparent media I use to create depth visibly drying in the upper left corner.

I'd like to start a 4th & keep loading transparent media on a 4th canvas - but I guess I'm in no rush to see what I end up putting on the canvas. Ok, back to work...

Hmmmmm...

Short entry, I came across this site today: Who is that with Jeremy?

Typically, I'm not into sites that pair random people with celebrities, which is what this site is all about. But random folks paired with a cute baby/toddler... that I can't resist.

My favorite pic is of Jeremy with G. Gordon Liddy. Makes a D.C. girl think of home.

I walked a fast-paced 3 miles today - a wussy move, but I was not ready to run :>. I did 5+ miles on Friday evening, with Jason's most-welcomed company. I did 3.5 on Wednesday & 6 miles - hiking up Tiger Mountain - on Monday. That's 17.5+ miles for the week. That's more or less on track.

Tomorrow, I should get another 3 miles in. This is the first week of actual, no-turning-back training. It's a little daunting to look over all of the runs that have to happen between now & October. Definitely shifts priorities into a clearer perspective.

Jason's Uncle Dave called today (he's the one we're going to name all of our children after.) We talked about work & about the next time they can come out this way & I got to tell him the story of the weekend...

I thought it would be a nice idea to bake a pie for our friends, Christina & Jeannie, in the pie pan they left at our place a week or so ago. So, I got the recipe together & started making a chocolate-walnut, meringue pie. I carefully set up ingredients for 2 pies, one for Christina & Jeannie & one for us to try. It's been a while since I've baked & timing-wise, I ended up making the pies at the same time Jason was making us dinner.

The meringue on the pie looked finished & I took both of the pies out to cool. We were running out of space on the counters & so I put the pies on the stove top. I came back to coo over the pies as they cooled, teasing about touching the meringue topping. As I walked away, I heard an explosion & I hunched my shoulders. It was the glass pie plate that had detonated.

Jason asked if I was ok & I turned around to see the heap of chocolate filling & hot crust seeping over shattered glass & onto the element on the stove. Jason & I stared at the oven until we both noticed that the back burner, that the pie pan was on, was set at medium heat, having been left on from a dinner item Jason had just removed. I got to the stove first & turned off the element. Jason got a broom. The night felt a bit deflated after that. Everything's back to normal now, I finished retrieving the kitchen from a pie-induced destruction - all I need to do is get another pie pan for Christina & Jeannie & make them another pie. Ah well...

This has been a good weekend.